Giants Hope a Moral Victory Can Lead to a Real One

By JOE LAPOINTE; Barclay Walsh contributed research.

Published: February 3, 2008

The term moral victory is not exclusive to sports. It has been used to describe everything from Al Gore's disputed defeat in the presidential election of 2000 to the battle at the Alamo in 1836.

But the term is heard most often after athletic contests referring to the losing side of a close result against an opponent perceived as superior. The boxer Joe Frazier's reputation was enhanced in 1975 when he lost his heavyweight title bout to the champion Muhammad Ali in the Thrilla in Manila. The same sort of fame came to John McEnroe after Bjorn Borg beat him for the 1980 Wimbledon title.

Phil Simms, the former Giants quarterback who is now a CBS announcer, said the term moral victory was ''thrown out there probably way too much, like a lot of sports clich?'' But Simms said the Giants' 38-35 loss to New England in late December was a legitimate example.

''I would say yes, that was a moral victory,'' he said last week. ''It gave them confidence to play the best team in the N.F.L.''

The topic is relevant this weekend as the Giants and the undefeated Patriots prepare to meet again, in the Super Bowl, and because, sometimes, a moral victory is followed by a win in the rematch.

That was the case when McEnroe beat Borg in the 1981 Wimbledon final. Defensive lineman Richard Seymour of the Patriots recalled a similar situation in 2001, when New England lost to the St. Louis Rams, 24-17, during the regular season.

''When we walked away from that game, we said, 'Man, we would love to see those guys again,' '' Seymour said. After winning their next eight games, the Patriots faced the Rams again in the Super Bowl and beat them, 20-17. Therefore, Seymour concluded, ''We understand the mentality the Giants have.''

John Mara, the president and co-owner of the Giants, winced when he heard the term moral victory. But he recalled that the mood during and after the December defeat was uplifting for the Giants and their supporters.

''The players believed that they could play with anybody, and that game did so much to energize our fan base,'' Mara said. ''The stadium was as alive as it's ever been.''

When asked to define moral victory, he said, ''I guess it's if you feel good after a loss.''

Still, the term is often rejected by athletes and coaches, perhaps because it may be a misnomer. Moral as an adjective can be defined as relating to, dealing with or capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. In that sense, would the opposite of a moral victory in sports be an immoral victory, in which the winning team cheats?

Perhaps, in the context of a sports defeat, the more appropriate word might be morale, because performing well or nobly in defeat can boost the spirits of participants and their fans.

Grant Barrett, a lexicographer who is the host of the radio show ''A Way With Words,'' said moral as an adjective could also be defined as ''having psychological rather than tangible effects,'' as in moral support. This meaning would fit a moral victory in sports.

That was the impression of Steve Smith, a rookie receiver for the Giants, who said the loss to the Patriots raised the confidence of the players in quarterback Eli Manning, whose ability to rise to big moments had been questioned.

''After that game, we knew Eli could do it,'' Smith said. ''It was the biggest confidence game for us this whole season.''

Of course, the phrase confidence game also has a different meaning in another context, but that is a topic for another day.

In political discourse, moral victory has a long history that shows how the term can mean different things in different times. In 1858, Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois used the term to support the rights of new states to decide whether or not they wanted slavery.

''The credit of this great moral victory is to be divided among a large number of men,'' Douglas said.

But President Bush used the expression in a different sense in 2002 after the United States invaded Afghanistan. He compared his plan to rebuild that nation to the rebuilding of Europe with the Marshall Plan.

''Marshall knew that our victory in World War II had to be followed by a moral victory that resulted in better lives for individual human beings,'' Bush said.

Patriots Coach Bill Belichick dismissed the notion that the Giants won a moral victory in December. ''I don't think so,'' he said. ''Talk to them about that.''

But when Nick Kaczur, a tackle for the Patriots, was asked whether there was such a thing as a moral victory, he replied: ''I'm sure there is. You can still get a lot of confidence out of a loss if you played very well, which they did.''

For his part, Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said: ''I told the players going into that game that everything that came out would be positive, and I didn't dwell on the negatives. We used it as a bridge to the playoffs.''

After adding that the Patriots still have a zero in the loss column, Moss said it was inappropriate to ask him about moral victories. ''I don't know how to answer that question,'' he said. ''That's actually a crazy question.''